The Next Step
by Cleo Alexandria
Summary: AU fic. No vamps, No slayers. Spike is Buffys' stepfather. What more should I say, other then it is a touching love story with a happy ending!


  


The Next Step

  
**Disclaimer:** This has been written purely for entertainment, not for profit of any kind. I do not own any of the characters, they belong to Joss Whedon. I am just a Woman with a sick fixation on Spike and let me just say that if I did own his character he would be firmly handcuffed to my four-poster bed.   
**  


Chapter 1

  
**Turning 17 was an event which most young girls looked forward and older women fondly reminisced. But not Buffy. Her birthdays never seemed to go well. Well actually just the last three, but that was enough to convince her that she was cursed.  
"Hey sweets", Buffys' step-father William leaned casually against the frame of her door. "Your a little young to be brooding on your birthday aren't you?".  
Buffy jumped, shocked out of her thoughts by her step-fathers voice. She quickly turned away not wanting him to see the tears that seemed to be escaping against her will.   
"What are you doing here?", she snapped irritated that he had caught her crying. "I thought you'd gone to work" she quickly wiped her eyes.  
"I umm___I heard that your father called of your birthday lunch." He sat down next to her on the bed, placing a comforting hand on hers. "There was no way I could work knowing you were all alone on your birthday"  
She snuck him a side-woods glance still a little peeved at being caught crying.  
"Mom didn't seem to have a problem with it"  
"Yeah well ____" He sighed, desperately wanting to call Joyce and order her back here. "This is a busy time for her. You know her priorities go out the window when she's stressed."  
Buffy smiled, William never spoke down to her, he was always straight out. Something she had noticed, that he didn't always do with her mother.  
"You really ditched work for me?" She asked, feeling a little better. He always seemed to have that effect on her.  
"You bet _little bit_", affectionately stroking a stray blond lock of hair behind her ear.  
The conversation flowed easily between them as they drove down to the supermarket. William had suggested loading up with ice-cream and renting a video. To which Buffy had wholeheartedly agreed. She placed two cigarettes to her lips, lighting both and passing one to her step-father. A habit they had fallen into soon after he'd started, officially, dating her mother.  
_William had been driving when he started feeling around his coat, frustrated at not finding what he wanted he'd taken his eyes of the road to take a closer look. Noticing this, Buffy, alarmed, had screeched at him to watch what he was doing as he sped through a stop sign.   
"Here", she'd said, guessing what he had been looking for, and pulled a packet of Holidays out of her bag, lighting two and passing one to him.  
He'd taken it lifting one eyebrow,   
"Your mother know you smoke?"  
"Does she know that your not even attempting to quit____ Like she asked you to"  
"It seems we have reached an impass. Can you keep a secret from her?"  
"Are you kidding? I'm a 16 year old girl. Keeping stuff from mom is what I do best"  
They'd smiled fondly at each other in agreement. The bond had been forged.   
_   
William winked affectionately at her as he took the cigarette, admiring her blond shoulder length blond hair as it swayed to the cars movements. He had been impressed by the pretty young teenager when he had first met her a year and a half ago, but over the last year she had really blossomed. She a become a beautiful young woman, and she was only going to become more so as she matured. Oh yer she was going to make some man very happy one day. Strangely he found that he didn't like that idea much. He shook his head running a hand trough his short peroxide hair. Was he getting possessive of her? Not that it was that surprising, he had been living with her for a year now, and he was married to her mother. It's not surprising for a step-father to care about his step-daughter.  
They arrived at the video store, having agreed to pick a video first so that the ice-cream wouldn't melt while they were looking around. But as fate would have it, they took nearly no time to choose. Both immediately agreeing on M. Night Shamylans' "Signs".  
The young man at the counter, name tag said "Xander", grinned as they approached. His eyes running over her body, taking every detail.  
"Arr...Xander you'll wanna pull your eyes back before you loose them." William spoke tersely.  
The boy smiled sheepishly at them both.  
"Sorry Spike, we don't get many pretty ladies in here during the day."  
Buffy smiled blushing at the complement. The boy seemed to be not much older then herself, and she had to admit he was kind of cute, and did he just call her step-father _Spike?_.  
Both grinning proudly as they lugged the ice-cream they'd brought into the house they set up a couple of bowls and began scooping large balls of the cold dessert.   
Looking slyly at him she had to ask.  
"Did that guy call you Spike?"  
"What's that pet" he looked up, moving his attention away from the chocolate and cherry mountain he was creating.  
"Spike...That guy ummm, Xander, called you Spike"  
"oh yeah, I know his father. Spike was kind of a nick name. But your mom hated it, so I dropped it. Almost all my friends used to call me that, so much that it kind of became my name. It was a little wierd being called William again"  
"Spike " She said the name slowly letting it roll of her tongue, "I like it", She said licking a stray drop of icecream from her finger. "Would you mind If I called you Spike?"  
He looked up surprised and touched that she wanted to address him as his other friends did.   
"Sure thing, but not in front of Joyce OK. She really hates it" She drew closed an imaginary zipper across her lips, deftly locking it and throwing the key over her shoulder. Spike couldn't help but laugh. She could be so cute.  
Buffy carried their bowls into the lounge while Spike set up the video, and for the next hour and forty minutes they sat transfixed before a shared favorite film.   
_Mel Gibson sat at the table with his two children and brother frustrated at his inability to protect his family. "Well if your not going to eat, I'll try some of everything!" jerkily scooping food from each of the plates. Shoveling it into his mouth, tears running down his face.   
_Buffy feels her lip tremble as she watches the boy, playing Mels' son, run to his side. She feels tears on her cheek as Mel sobs and takes his son into his arms. Suddenly her attention is disturbed as she hears a muffled sniff from beside her. Looking over she sees that Spike also has tears in his eyes. They share a watery smile. Spike putting his arm around her. Together they share the sorrow and the light humour of the father hugging his two children then grabbing his brother and pulling him in for the group hug as well.  
Later they were cleaning up the mess they had made in the kitchen he was washing up, she was drying, and occationally flicking him with the towel.  
Spike pulled the plug, running the water to wash away the extra suds. And turned to help Buffy only to find that she had finished as well.  
"Thanks", she spoke, smiling up at him, "you know, for today, I had a good time."  
"Me too pet" He grinned back an expression of curiosity crossing his hansom features as she suddenly looked nervous, biting her lip.  
"You know I really like this____Us I mean. You never tried to play daddy with me. You just treat me like a person"  
"How else would I treat you?" he smiled jokingly, "but I know what you mean, I like this too" The smiled into each others eyes enjoying the moment.  
Before he realised what he was doing, Spikes mouth lowered and covered hers. His strong hands gripping her slim arms as he deepened the kiss enflamed by her response as she moaned, grabbing his loosed white shirt and pulling him harder against her. He allowed his tongue to explore her soft mouth, feeling all the blood in his body rushing to one area as she expertly curled her tongue around his, sucking periodically.  
There was no time for shock, as she watched his mouth lower to hers. She had always liked him but until this moment she had never thought of him as more then her mothers husband and her friend. But that all changed the second his lips touched hers. The heat from his body scorched her, blazing a firey trail from her lips down into her soft center.  
She felt his hardness pushed roughly against her abdomen, her own softness has beginning to soak her panties. She ran her hands over his hard stomach delighted by the feeling of them tightening and rippling beneath her hands.   
Suddenly the sound of a car door slamming in the driveway broke them apart. They literally jumped apart. Staring into each others faces. Each mirroring the same blend of shock, panic, and passion.  
They forced their faces into the semblance of composure as Joyce walked in, completely unaware of the new tension that had just been added to their happy family.   



End file.
